[img_assist|nid=25981|title=|desc=|link=popup|align=left|width=100|height=150]Like him or loathe him, comedian Peter Kay has undoubtedly found fame and fortune by using his routines to remind us of the way we used to be, and the things we used to do which now seem positively peculiar. One of the comics gags focuses on sitting in front of the television, waiting patiently as Teletext scrolled through the list of holidays, before an inevitable misplaced remote meant that the page moved on and you had to wait another 10 frustrating minutes for it to come around again. People took to the joke because its so easily forgotten that the development of the internet completely revolutionised the way we do things such as booking holidays, and exponentially increased the number of options we have.

The mobile revolution is perhaps not as ground-breaking as the internet one; in fact, I would argue, its more of an evolution. But with the capability of modern smartphones and the innovations coming from the growing army of app developers, there may well be a time in the not-too-distant future when we look back and wonder whether there really was a time when we had to book every detail of our holiday before we left home.

New dimension

Mobile apps are now giving travellers the opportunity to book flights and hotel rooms and plan excursions while they are on the move, using a device they can keep in their pocket.

Take an app such as Kayak, the flight search aggregator. One simple interface can pull data from hundreds of booking sites to find the cheapest fare. Not only that, it does this at regular intervals and alerts you when the prices drop. If you dont like the price, you can just go back to the bar or go off exploring and wait for the next update – it brings a whole new dimension to travelling.

Then there is Travelocity, an app which through one portal allows you to book flights, hotels and car rentals. The Travelocity app is a prime example of how developers are actively targeting travellers whose journeys are already underway, as it uses mobile-exclusive deals for those willing to book there and then.

At Hotel Reservation Service (HRS), we have joined the party, through a partnership with the Telmap M8 app. Our own research suggests that mobile bookings we receive via our existing app are in a large part made by business travellers, as three-quarters of them being made on the check-in day or the day after. But we expect to see significant growth in the use of mobile travel apps as less-frequent travellers catch on.

Last year, 6 per cent of bookings were mobile, and by next year, we expect mobile bookings to account for up 20 per cent of our total turnover. We have embedded our database in the M8 app, enabling travellers to search for nearby hotels and make bookings on the fly, with prices being updated regularly.

What it also does is engage with another aspect of the mobile app which aids the traveller-support. Its all well and good booking a great hotel deal from your computer at home, but what happens if there is no record of the booking when you get there, or if there is a problem with the hotel? One day, apps might offer 24/7 support and get travellers to provide reviews of the hotel on check-out, providing real-time information on conditions at the hotel that could then be used to inform the next traveller. In future, mobile hotel reservations need to go beyond pure booking. From our point of view, it will no longer be sufficient just to offer an app; service providers need to think about offering services other than the booking itself.”

Data services
Of course, if we want consumers to use mobile apps to plan holidays on the fly, they need not only to have confidence in the apps themselves, but in the data services they get from they get from their network providers. The data roaming packages offered by carriers can be complex and lead to users paying much more than they expected to. With apps such as Travelocity that constantly update, this will need to change if consumers are to get the best out of them. But service providers can be a reactionary bunch when it comes to tariffs and charges, and with developers and consumers driving change in the mobile travel market, we believe that service providers will surely follow.

Björn Krämer is director of mobile & new media at HRS